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Life story

" Harbor Springs --- Kenneth Courtenay McAlpin, “KC,” age 78, died September 29th, 2024, surrounded by family in Amissville, Virginia from pancreatic cancer. KC was born February 15, 1946 in Rochester, Pennsylvania, the second of five children born to the late Joseph Roderick McAlpin Jr. and Martha A. (McAlpin) Blanchard.

KC grew up in Houston, Texas, where he attended St. John’s School and then Memorial High School (class of 1964). He completed his undergraduate studies at University of Texas in 1969 and then earned a master’s degree from Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management in Phoenix, Arizona.

After graduate school, he joined the international audit staff of Exxon Corp, and traveled throughout South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. His work brought him face to face with the environmental damage and poverty in Latin America, resulting in emigration to the United States. Following Exxon, KC worked at Diamond Shamrock Corporation in international auditing and corporate development.

In 1981 KC saw an ad in the Wall Street Journal from a new organization called the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in Washington DC that changed the entire trajectory of his life. FAIR advocated for policy reforms to stem illegal immigration and keep legal immigration at a generous level that the U.S. could absorb without harming its own citizens’ wages and job opportunities. KC joined FAIR and met its founder, Dr. John H. Tanton of Petoskey, Michigan. John Tanton became a mentor and had a profound influence on the rest of KC’s career.

After moving to Washington DC in 1982 to join FAIR’s staff, KC went on to run ProEnglish and US Inc, two organizations also founded by Tanton. In 2010, KC moved to Harbor Springs, Michigan, and continued to work for US Inc. on its board of directors until his retirement in 2018.

In northern Virginia, he belonged to The Falls Church Episcopal (now Anglican) Church and served as the head of its men’s ministry. It was through The Falls Church that KC found his true faith in Jesus Christ. He later joined New Life Anglican Church in Petoskey, MI, where he served on the Vestry and as treasurer. KC believed in helping others and volunteered for ministries helping the unemployed find work both in northern Virginia and Michigan.

KC was a golfer and an enthusiastic fan of the Washington Capitals. He loved classical music and served as a board member and treasurer of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra in Petoskey, Michigan. He was an avid reader and had a passion for world history. But probably what KC loved most was spending summers in the Bay View community of Northern Michigan, which he enjoyed throughout childhood and was likewise able to bless his own family with the same experience.

KC McAlpin was always an irrepressible optimist and he resolutely believed in our better natures, guided by the grace of God. KC was very outgoing, had a great sense of humor and enjoyed being with people. He was a loyal friend, a devoted father, husband, brother, and a caring member of his community. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his beloved stepmother Elizabeth (B’Lee). He leaves behind his former wives Nancy and Louise, his children Holly, Bonnie, and David, his grandson Elijah, as well as his brothers Rod, Pete, Wayo, and Mac, his sister Ashley, and his Aunts JoAnn and Patricia. "